A Newport Beach company has settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department alleging that it discriminated against foreign-born workers.

The government filed suit in 2011 against Life Generations Healthcare LLC, doing business as Generations Healthcare (GHC), a company that runs 18 assisted living and skilled nursing centers with 1,900 beds throughout California.

The complaint can be read here. It alleged that GHC discriminated against authorized workers born abroad. It alleged GHC required these immigrants to produce more documents to establish authority to work than it required of citizens born in the United States. The government claimed this occurred since at least Jan. 1, 2008, and that during the time at issue, GHC had between 2,400 and 3,000 employees.

GHC denied the allegations, but a hearing officer ruled in the government’s favor on Sept. 11 of this year. That ruling can be read here.

In announcing settlement of the suit Thursday, the Justice Department said GHC will pay a total of $119,313 in back pay to two victims of discrimination, and $88,687 in civil penalties to the United States. GHC will also be subject to monitoring of its hiring practices for two years.

GHC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement.

“Both the court’s ruling and this settlement underscore the importance of complying with the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the consequences for failing to do so,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “Employers should review their hiring policies and employment eligibility verification practices to ensure that they comply with federal anti-discrimination law.”

The government said the case was litigated and settled by the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, which is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The statute prohibits employers from placing additional documentary burdens on work-authorized applicants or employees during the employment eligibility verification process because of their citizenship status or national origin, the agency said. The statute also prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, as well as retaliation and intimidation, it added.

This government website has details on complying with immigration laws.

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